Chapter 160: Shrouded in Mist

After a long while, when Humo sensed that everyone in the Hu Residence had fallen unconscious, the absorption by the Three Treasures gradually came to a halt. With a single thought from Humo, Cang Ling's figure appeared once more beside the stone table. Compared to her previous state of agony, she looked much better now.

Cang Ling sat with her eyes closed, her form radiating a multicolored glow. As the five-colored brilliance pulsed in and out, her aura slowly began to stabilize.

Lin Nan was extremely weak at this moment. Although Humo had tried to absorb as little of her power as possible, she had taken the initiative to offer up a vast amount of her battle might. The drain of this energy had left her body utterly overwhelmed.

Humo let out a soft sigh and gave a gentle wave, sending a surge of water-attribute battle might flowing into Lin Nan. Her complexion immediately regained some color, and an expression of comfort settled across her face.

"Are you feeling better? What on earth happened? How did you end up so severely injured?" Humo asked in a deep, highly solemn tone.

Cang Ling slowly opened her eyes, looked at the tense expression on Humo's face, and smiled. "You brat actually know how to worry about me? Having spent so much time in Flame City, tangled up with both a human princess and a beast-clan princess, you've probably devoured them completely."

Even as she smiled, Cang Ling suddenly broke into a fit of coughing, her aura still somewhat erratic. Humo watched her with intense anxiety and said gravely, "Stop talking nonsense. Tell me, I am genuinely worried about you!"

Cang Ling's laughter faltered. She gazed quietly at Humo, then sighed softly, "Nothing is the matter. It's just that an old wound from years past has been stirred, and my divine limit is approaching, that's all."

"Divine limit? What is a divine limit?" Humo pressed urgently, his tone fraught with anxiety.

Cang Ling offered a faint smile. "A divine limit, as the name implies, is the ultimate boundary of a deity—in other words, the time of my death."

Cang Ling's tone was exceptionally calm. As she spoke, the multicolored brilliance gradually receded into her body. Only then did her complexion recover somewhat, restoring the imposing aura she had possessed when she first appeared.

"How is that possible? Exactly what happened? Tell me, do not keep things from me!" Humo's emotions grew somewhat agitated, gradually slipping beyond his control.

Cang Ling smiled faintly, tapping his forehead with a slender finger, and said gently, "You must keep your emotions in check while at the stage of a Slaughtering Battle King, otherwise you will easily fall into the demonic path. Do not be bewildered by my divine limit; this is entirely normal. Among all things in heaven and earth—whether gods, demons, spirits, or mortals—none are immortal. The five signs of celestial decay cannot be evaded by anyone; this is the Dao of Heaven. In truth, my divine limit should have arrived a million years ago, but I submerged my divine consciousness into the Divine Spirit Jade, using a state of suspended animation to elude it. I never imagined that after sleeping for a million years, I would encounter you, the bearer of the three primeval sacred treasures. It is solely due to the power of those sacred treasures that my divine limit has been temporarily suppressed."

"Then why is the divine limit returning now?" Humo stared intently at Cang Ling, his usual playful and bantering demeanor entirely gone, replaced only by a heavy heart and a sharp gaze.

Cang Ling's body shuddered, and she seemed to drift into a daze. Glancing briefly at Lin Nan, who was still healing nearby, Humo grabbed Cang Ling's hand and rushed into his own room. Cang Ling looked somewhat flustered; gazing at Humo, whose emotions were dangerously unstable, she—who had always been so strong and dominant—felt at a loss for the first time in her life.

"Tell me everything. I can bear whatever comes. Furthermore, how can we make your divine limit vanish? I know you must have a way!" Humo said with intense emotion, his hands gripping Cang Ling's arms tightly.

Cang Ling furrowed her brow, shook off Humo's hands, and said coldly, "What can you possibly do? You know nothing of the power of the heavens, yet you can afford to speak so grandly. Your emergence and your very existence are mandated by destiny. To put it bluntly, even you are merely a plaything of the Heavenly Dao. Can a plaything contend with its master? The Heavenly Dao is ruthless, and all people are mere ants. Even gods are simply somewhat sturdier ants. Divine Emperors and Divine Kings ultimately turn out to be nothing more than fleeting smoke; living a long time does not mean one will never die."

Listening to Cang Ling's words, Humo slowly sank into deep contemplation. He had to admit that her words cast doubt upon certain cognitions he had held previously. This doubt gradually metastasized, leaving him more and more bewildered and unable to comprehend the truth.

"My identity is that of a Mandate God, an existence superior to a Divine Emperor..." Although Cang Ling's tone was flat, the innate majesty that brooked no challenge caused Humo's expression to shift involuntarily.

"A Mandate God is the emissary of the Heavenly Dao across all realms. My existence is to rein in the various realms and guide them toward stability. Mandate Gods rely on generation-to-generation inheritance; reckoning it up, I am merely the third-generation successor. Since I have not died, the Divine Realm temporarily has no new Mandate God. You should be able to tell that those individuals in the Divine Realm hold a profound fear of me. Hehe, that is entirely normal, because I have disciplined both the old fogies and the brats of the Divine Realm thoroughly. Naturally, they find me unforgettable."

A deeply wicked smile surfaced on Cang Ling's face. Whenever she recalled those affairs, her mood would become exceptionally buoyant. Humo found this mischievous streak of hers quite normal; people with such personalities usually revealed themselves at first glance.

"I have served as this Mandate God for a very, very long time—so long that I can no longer describe it with millions of years. I only remember that one million years ago, turmoil erupted in the Mortal Realm. The long-dormant Demon Realm, along with the Beast-Clan branch of the Monster Realm that had infiltrated the Mortal Realm, both plunged into chaos. In the end, the Divine Realm was forced to intervene. I suffered heavy injuries in that war, and my divine limit drew near. However, there was no suitable candidate for the next Mandate God at the time, so with no other choice, I could only seal myself within the Divine Spirit Jade. And that very piece of Divine Spirit Jade is the Lingbo Art you once witnessed. You know everything that happened afterward, so there is no need for me to elaborate," Cang Ling recounted methodically. Though her words were not overly specific, she had touched upon many aspects.

As Humo listened and pondered, upon hearing Cang Ling's final sentence, he suddenly gave a start and shouted, "No, that's not it! I still don't know why you were injured again. How am I supposed to save you? That is what I actually want to know!"

Humo spoke with intense anxiety, while Cang Ling sighed softly, "Even I have no certainty of success, let alone you. My trip to the Black Demon Forest this time was precisely to search for an ancient Divine Spirit Jade so that I could resume my slumber. The next Mandate God has yet to appear; I cannot die yet."

"Would you stop going on about your so-called Mandate God? What I want to know is the method to save you! Put aside those so-called responsibilities for now. You once said your name represents all living beings beneath the heavens and every creature in existence. If that is the case, why do you submit to so-called destiny? To hide away now, wait for some predestined person to appear, offer up your own life, and then shout aloud, 'Look how great I am!' Bah! That is sheer foolishness, no different from breeding stock! My fate is decided by me, not by the heavens! Why must one be doomed to die the moment they are born? Why must one shoulder so many duties, only to toil away for the benefit of others? Although I know our master-disciple relationship was merely a momentary whim and a joke on your part, I do not wish to see you grow so fragile and surrender so easily!" Humo roared aloud, his emotions mounting in intensity.

Cang Ling shook her head, looking utterly helpless as she said, "Everything is far more complicated than you imagine. If the development of all things had no rules, total chaos would ensue. Besides, right now, the one truly in danger is not me, but you!"

"Me? What is that supposed to mean?" Humo asked in bewilderment, his panicked mind steadying for a fraction of a second.

"Have you not noticed that the power of the entire Battle Continent has concentrated right here? Do you think those people came here simply because they were bored? How could I, as a Mandate God, be ignorant of destiny? One million years ago, after the Divine Realm pooled all its strength to seal the Demon Realm and the Monster Realm, it severed those two domains from the continent. At that time, I received a prophecy from the Heavenly Dao, and this prophecy has been passed down to the present day: 'When Mysterious Battle unites, heaven and earth shall fall into chaos. Gods and demons emerge, and ten thousand beasts perish.' This is known as the 'Twelve-Character True Oracle,' and to this day, only the major sects are aware of it. Now that they have all gathered in Flame City, it is undoubtedly tied to this prophecy. I worry that I will not even last until that day arrives. When that time comes, how will you protect yourself?" Cang Ling's tone was laden with helplessness, her eyes carrying a profound sorrow.

Upon hearing this, Humo suddenly burst into loud laughter, as if he had just heard a hilarious joke.

"Is this my so-called danger? According to what you're saying, the entire Battle Continent must face such a catastrophe, so what difference does one more or one fewer person like me make? Since you don't even know how to save yourself, I will use the Three Treasures to protect you now. If you call them sacred treasures, and they can't even protect you, of what use are they to me? That settles it; I'm going out to check on Lin Nan first. You get some rest." Suppressing the turmoil within his heart, Humo opened the door and walked out.

Cang Ling watched his departing figure, let out a soft sigh, and muttered to herself, "You are still too weak; I cannot drag you down into this. Perhaps... I should never have sought you out."

Once outside the room, Humo's aura erupted instantly. Emotional control was not merely a matter of empty words; it required immensely formidable spiritual control.

Lin Nan had already recovered. She gazed coldly at Humo, her tone as icy as ever: "Still unable to control the battle might of slaughter?"

"Control? Control my ass!" Humo suddenly let out a roar and lunged straight at Lin Nan. Simultaneously, a formidable shockwave of battle might surged directly toward her.

The distance was too close; Lin Nan had no time to dodge whatsoever before she was pinned beneath Humo. Softness, alluring fragrance—these sensations flooded into Humo's brain all at once, plunging his mind into a hazy fog accompanied by an overwhelming urge for release.

A thick aura of male hormones saturated the space around Lin Nan. Her mind grew briefly dizzy, while Humo was already straddling her body, his hands aggressively grasping the soft mounds of her chest.

"Why should I control myself? I need to vent!" Humo seized her garments and violently ripped open her collar.

At that moment, a ferocious surge of water-attribute battle might suddenly erupted from Lin Nan's body, completely freezing Humo solid in an instant. Stimulated by the water-attribute energy, the Sacred Water Monarch within Humo's mind began to spin rapidly, instantly suppressing his previously violent emotions.

A look of shame and fury crossed Lin Nan's face, and she struck the ice-bound Humo with a palm strike. With a crisp cracking sound, Humo's body flew backward through the air, crashing directly into a courtyard wall and embedding himself deep within the masonry.

Humo crawled out from the wall, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. His wits had fully returned, and he felt a genuine sense of regret for what had just transpired.

Lin Nan bit her lip, clutching her chest as she glared furiously at Humo. Although Humo's mind had been clouded at the time, taking liberties was taking liberties; that unvarnished fact could not be altered.

Humo glanced at her, let out a soft sigh, and said, "I'm sorry. Go check on Master, I'll be leaving first."

Without another word or even looking back at Lin Nan, he turned and strode out of the courtyard. Lin Nan watched his retreating back, bit her lip, but ultimately said nothing, turning instead to walk into the room.